Electronic article surveillance (“EAS”) systems are commonly used in retail stores and other settings to prevent the unauthorized removal of goods from a protected area. Typically, a detection system is configured at an exit from the protected area, which comprises one or more transmitters and antennas (“pedestals”) capable of generating an electromagnetic field across the exit, known as the “interrogation zone”. Articles to be protected are tagged with an EAS marker that, when active, generates an electromagnetic response signal when passed through this interrogation zone. An antenna and receiver in the same or another “pedestal” detects this response signal and generates an alarm.
One characteristic of the EAS interrogation zone is that consumers usually must walk through the interrogation zone to enter/exit the facility. This characteristic provides an area where the facility can track all people that visit the facility. Tracking people transiting the interrogation zone provides valuable consumer information that enables a business to calculate the percentage of store visitors that make purchases, determine consumer traffic at certain periods of the day, determine optimum staff shifts and determine whether a store promotion increased consumer traffic, among other statistics.
Different technologies have been incorporated by retailers to track the number of entering and exiting consumers. These technologies range from video imaging to thermal imaging of consumers. For example, video imaging relies on a video stream or series of images that are produced by a security camera at the entrance/exit of the store. The video stream may be processed to enable consumer tracking. However, video imaging involves separate processing computer(s) to implement complex algorithms for digitally filtering the consumer from the background in order to track the consumer. Due to the need for digital filtering, these systems may not work in low light levels, i.e., cannot distinguish a person from the background. Also, the cost associated with video imaging systems is often substantial and may require repeat calibration. Video imaging systems are also more intrusive to consumers as these systems function by processing identifiable images of people.
Thermal imaging is another technology that may be used to track consumers. For example, thermal imaging systems may use a sensor array to detect heat sources within a given area. Thermal imaging systems are less intrusive on consumer because they do not processing identifiable images of people to track consumers. However, thermal imaging systems detect all heat sources passing an entrance such as a person, pet or even a shopping cart that has been in the sun. Therefore, the accuracy of thermal imaging systems may be lower due to their inability to distinguish between heat sources.
Therefore, what is needed is a non-intrusive system and method for detecting and counting people transiting an interrogation zone of an electronic article surveillance (“EAS”) system.